Bacheler Christmas

We had a great visit with Nate's side of the family this past weekend. Papa was on breakfast duty each morning. Uncle Dan and Aunt Molly got to practice their parenting skills (Owen's cousin is due in April!) Grandma seemed to win the 'get Owen to fall asleep' award for the weekend, and Owen met his first dog up close and personal. We had quite a spread for our early Christmas celebratory dinner - I slathered the 'Clark Gable' pork roast in garlic and rosemary and it turned out beautiful - juicy and flavorful. And my first try at baked apples was a big hit, too. Along with Grandma Pam's spinach salad and lots of sweet treats for dessert, we ate well.

Here's proof that Santa Claus came to our house....Dad helped Owen out with most of his present unwrapping.
The gang as we sat down to dinner...
And lastly, a funny parting shot of Owen entitled "Baby in Space"...

We hit the road for RI tomorrow - wish us luck on the two day car ride!

Awaiting guests and the quest for head control

This week, we're looking forward to the arrival of the Bacheler clan to Green Bay for an early Christmas celebration. Grandma and Papa arrive tomorrow afternoon; Uncle Dan, Aunt Molly and doggy-cousin Lucia will get here around lunchtime on Saturday. I'm planning a feast for us all on Sat night - the menu will include garlic and rosemary-studded pork roast (I got a Clark Gable roast at a nearby grocer that has a beautiful old-fashioned meat counter/butcher; never heard of that style of roast before, have you?), baked apples (Cooks Illustrated magazine recipe), Grandma Pam's wonderful spinach salad, rolls, and my homemade chocolate mint cookies for dessert...stay tuned for photos from our visit.

Here are a couple more video clips to show Owen's daily head control work-out regiment. He's getting stronger (and more vocal!) by the day.

Blizzard Allison

The snow started falling late yesterday morning, and by this morning, when Nate got up at 6am to shovel the driveway so he could leave for work, there was 14" on the ground. Blizzard Allison they're calling it - I guess they name bad snowstorms just like they name hurricanes.

After shoveling for an hour, Nate came back in and check his email and found that (for the first time in at least 12 years, according to a co-worker) UW-Green Bay was officially closed for the day. Snow day!! Still, with lots of grading to get done, Nate decided to brave the roads and drove to campus to pick up some lab reports. Apparently he was the only one crazy enough to do so, as he didn't see any other cars in the campus parking lot...

We all bundled up briefly this afternoon so that we could show Owen what snow is all about. Here are father and chubby-cheeked son, plunked down in the snow drift that Nate made with all of his shoveling...
and a wider shot back toward our house, for perspective

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ~ blizzard warnings are in effect until midnight tonight.

Owen's New Tricks

Every day, the head gets stronger, the legs are kicking more, and the vocalizations are increasingly entertaining. Below are some video clips to show off some of the new talents that Owen is acquiring. Also photos of a favorite evening position - napping in Dad's arms in the rocker. And documentation of our first walk in snow....

Here come the holidays

Well, we've made it to December without so much as a flurry of snow here in Green Bay. And the local weather experts are predicting a less snowy winter than last year (40-50" expected, as opposed to 80-90" like last year). We'll see how accurate their predictions are...

Owen did quite well during his first long car ride over the Thanksgiving holiday. We tested his road-readiness by braving the Chicago traffic on Wed. evening and, as expected, were stuck in stop-and-go traffic for quite a while. But we made it to central Indiana by 9pm or so and only had another 2.5 hours to our destination in Wapakoneta Ohio on Thanksgiving morning. Nate's Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob host an ever-growing group of family for the holiday. I think there were 14 of us staying at the house. Owen got lots of attention and still found time to nap amidst all the conversations, TV football, and other young cousins running around. A good time was had by all.

A very happy birthday (tomorrow) to Nannie! We can't wait to see the whole Daley clan in a few short weeks.

Grandma Time

Grandma Pam came for a brief visit this week and bestowed lots of love and cuddles on our little man. Owen and I especially enjoyed the company, as Nate had to work 12+ hour days both days she was here. To 'add insult to injury', he's also been battling a cold (or perhaps a mild case of H1N1?) all week, too. Luckily, Owen and I remain healthy, thanks to Nate's diligent hand-washing and self-imposed quarantine from the baby.


At 10 weeks old, Owen is continuing to gain head control, though maybe not as quickly as some other babies his age, due to the size of his gigantic noggin! The little guy doesn't seem to like 'belly time' too much as a result, but he's getting better and better by the day, and stronger, too.

He's smiling when he wants to, and making attempts at laughter (little shrieks of delight or baby bird noises at this point). Here's a smile caught on camera!

Temperatures are in the 50s here this weekend! I was gearing up for snow by Thanksgiving, but it looks like we'll escape into December before any of the white stuff shows up (famous last words?). Today is the first day of the regular gun deer season in WI and Nate is wistfully wishing he were out in the woods. Instead, he's busy grading lab reports all weekend....at least the end of the semester is in sight now - less than one month to go before the winter break. I think Nate will need it as much as the students...

Here's short video of little Owen on the beautiful penguin quilt made by his Grandma Pam. I believe Owen is trying to say is "you've had me here on my back for quite a while now and I'd like a change of scenery, please."

Visitors for the weekend

This past weekend, we hosted the Van Horn family at our house. Kevin and Kathy are both friends of Nate's from his undergraduate days at Grand Valley State University (MI). They have two fun - and energetic! - kids, Shea (7) and Nolan (nearly 4). The kids were eager to bestow lots of love and affection on little Owen. And we learned some important lessons about being parents:

1. Kids have endless energy. We spent a lot of time outside, playing on the swing set, and tossing/kicking the soccer ball, football, and frisbee they brought with them. Shea found a harmonica buried in the sandbox, which she would then play to 'soothe' Owen. Surprisingly, he actually really seemed to like it! Our basement became the play room, where Nolan was free to crash his toy cars and dinosaurs together as much as he pleased. And still, they were running circles around us by the end of the day.
   
2. Kids ask a lot of questions. Nolan was a steady stream of them: why doesn't Owen eat food? how did Owen get out of your belly? why won't Owen hold my hand? why is Owen only 2 months old? why do you have to hold Owen so much?
   
3. Kids don't mind getting dirty. Grass stains, crumbs, spilled milk, dirt. They just continue going about their business no matter how much stuff they have caked to their faces! We were constantly reminding them "lets wash our hands before we play with the baby!"

Our weekend highlights included lots of playtime in the backyard, lunch at Lambeau Field on Saturday, a trip to the zoo on Sunday, where the kids got to feed giraffes and hear lions roar, and evenings spent reading books.

Through all the new noises and commotion, Owen seemed to do pretty well. He's been sleeping like a dream lately - going more than 7 hours straight at night. We'll see how long this trend continues....

Lambeau Field

In the beautiful sunny, 60 degree weather we had today, Nate and I decided to take the tour of Lambeau Field. Quite impressive! Under the statues of Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi, we learned all about Packer history and lore. The Packers are publicly owned by upwards of 110,000 shareholders, their Pro Shop is by far the most financially successful of all the NFL teams, and games have been sold out since the 1960s. Season tickets can be passed down to family as far removed as 1st cousins. Thousands of people remain on the waiting list....But thanks to their support of a stadium expansion that was paid for by local tax dollars, residents of Brown County can annually enter a lottery system drawing for 6000 seats that were part of the expansion.


The tour ends by taking participants out the very tunnel that the Packers use to run out onto the field, and with piped-in audio of fans cheering, it's easy to feel the excitement of playing for such a beloved team!


Owen was so excited that he slept through most all of the tour.

November

Time is really flying by... Owen is 8 weeks old and it's already November. Flipping through the local radio stations recently, I couldn't help but notice that a couple of them have already switched to 'all holiday music' - already?!

We suited up in our local colors again last Sunday, hoping for a Packers victory over the Vikings on the home turf, but to no avail....at least we were entertained by all the local hoopla over the return of Brett Favre in his Viking purple. The Friday before the game, the mayor encouraged folks to wear "flip-flops" to work; they held a mock funeral for Favre on Sat, and many people dyed their #4 jerseys black. Seems that most people around here think of Favre as the ultimate traitor to have come back to play for the Packers arch-rival...as one sports commentator put it - "it's like divorcing your wife and then marrying her sister."

Anyway, life goes on... Nate stays very busy all week long preparing for and teaching his lectures and labs. Owen and I hold down the home front pretty well. We've been enjoying nice weather still, so I look forward to our daily walks.

Here's a shot of our little guy modeling his cloth diapers, which have come a long way since the days of vinyl covers and and diaper pins...


And one of many hats that Owen will don this coming season...I love the ear flaps!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Nate and I carved our pumpkins the other night and I made some delicious (if I might say so myself) roasted pumpkins seeds, which we've been snacking on ever since. We're unsure about how many visitors we'll actually get on Saturday...needless to say, the M&Ms and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups that Nate purchased will undoubtedly be eaten by somebody...

Owen was quite content in his monkey shirt today, but obliged when I dressed him up in a cute hand-me-down bear snuggly for a quick photo shoot to get him in the Halloween spirit.

Here's another short video of our (now) 7-week old, mostly for the enjoyment of the adoring grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Six weeks and counting...

Our little guys is more than 6 weeks old now, and Nate already has him training to start walking...

Owen started smiling in earnest recently, though he seems just as likely to "smile" when he's about to pass gas, or get really mad about something!


And he's also begun to 'talk' more and more!

My boys

Just a couple more shots from this week of our growing little man. He and Nate love their naps on the couch...

A visit to the Soo

Owen went on his first long-distance road trip this past weekend, when we headed north to Sault Ste. Marie MI (locally known as the "Soo") to visit Grandma and Papa Bacheler. He did great on the car ride - woke up to feed once, but slept the rest of the time.

We took Owen to his first Friday-night fish fry at a local restaurant - the owner goes fishing nearly every day in order to have fresh catch on the menu. Here we are with our walleye (me) and perch (Nate) dinners.

The fall colors were at their peak in the Upper Peninsula. On Saturday we took a walk on the nearby cross-country ski trails before the weather turned cold - (awoke to 'first-of-the-year' snow flurries on Sunday morning!).



Owen certainly enjoyed all the extra attention over the weekend (as did his grandparents), and Nate and I reveled in the extra baby-holding hands, delicious meals, great company, and beautiful scenery. Big thanks to Grandma and Papa Bacheler for a wonderful visit (and for all the garden veggies they sent home with us) !

Parting shot: three generations of Bachelers (who all seem to smile the same way...)

Baby growth stats and Vikings vs Packers

At his check-up on Friday, Owen proved that he's a good little feeding machine. He weighed in at 9lbs 14.5 oz, and measured 23.75" in length. Nate and I don't think there's any way he could have grown more than 2 inches since he was born 3 weeks ago, so we suspect his birth length was actually a bit longer than what the nurses measured (21.5"). At any rate, he's one LONG baby boy - rapidly outgrowing all his newborn onesies.

This past weekend, we headed back to the farmers market to stock up on some apples, squash, local honey and maple syrup. We also gave Owen his first real bath, now that he's lost his umbilical cord. He seemed to like it pretty well, certainly more so than the sponge baths we've been giving him, which were always met with screams of discomfort at being exposed to the air.


The news is reporting that peak leaf color will be hitting our region of the state within the next week and a half. We're heading up to the "Soo" (Sault Ste. Marie, MI) to visit Grandma and Papa Bacheler this coming weekend, so we look forward to some beautiful fall scenery along the way.

Tonight, all TVs in Green Bay will be tuned in to the Monday Night Football game between the Packers and the Vikings. The significance of this game cannot be understated, as this will be the first time Brett Favre will be playing against his former teammates. Hopes are high for a Packers victory and we'll be sporting our local colors as we watch and cheer for the green and gold. As you can see, Owen is already showing his disdain for the Vikings...

A visit from the Aunts

Owen's Aunt Rosie and Aunt Stef came to visit him this week, so needless to say, he got plenty of good cuddle and lap time. We ventured out to the Green Bay Farmers Market, took a walk around the UW-GB campus, and made our first shopping outings to the grocery store and Target with great success.

Owen will be three weeks old tomorrow - hard for me to believe. We'll get another weigh-in at his doctor's appointment on Friday. I suspect, judging from his chipmunk-like-cheeks, that he's doing pretty well putting on the pounds (well, ounces).

The first two weeks

Hard to believe that our little man is now 15 days old - the days seems to be flying by (though the nights when he's up every couple of hours to feed, not so much...). Owen has steadily become more and more alert during the day, much to the delight of his Aunt Rosie, who's been visiting us for a couple of days. Aunt Stef is due into town tomorrow. I'm sure we'll have more to post about their visit soon....

Yesterday, Owen peed through his clothes twice (and on me, since I was holding him), all while wearing his diaper. Apparently we need to get better about "aiming" him down when we put on a fresh diaper. We've also had a few episodes of peeing during the diaper change. I had to mop some pee out of Owen's ear the first time this happened - he nearly got it in his own mouth! Since then, we've learned to put something over the "danger zone" to try and control the free-flow.

Here's Owen looking particularly alert after a feeding today....

And an afternoon nap on Daddy's lap... And last, another video to show the grandparents how alert and talkative the little guy is getting!

It's a Boy!

Sorry for the delay in postings, but Nate and I have been busy learning the ropes of parenthood! Owen Joseph Bacheler was born on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009, at 5:24am, after a fairly long labor (two sleepless nights in a row for Mommy Salinda). He came out a whopping 8lbs 12oz., and 21.5" long, with long toes and fingers, and brown hair. We stayed at the hospital until Saturday, and Owen came home in the very same outfit that his dad wore home from the hospital (see photo below).
Since then we have enjoyed plenty of time at home to bond with our new baby boy, while our parents, who have been visiting from RI and MI, have been taking care of all the other household items. We are so thankful to Grandma and Papa Bacheler, and Nannie and Grandpa Daley for all the help! We also celebrated my 33rd birthday on Sept. 15. It's been many, many years since I celebrated a birthday with my parents in person - we feasted on lobster pasta salad, pad Thai noodles, and a delicious raspberry-almond cheesecake.

I almost hesitate to say what a dream baby Owen has been so far, for fear that by writing it down, I'll change the future. But for the past two nights, he's slept for 5 or 6 hours at a time, and has taken to feeding like a champ - been putting on 2.5 oz every two days for the past week. The only "issue" we've had to deal with so far is that he was on a bilirubin light treatment blanket for 5 days, which meant keeping him connected to a light pad all hours of the day. During this time, he earned the nickname "Owey-Joey, the Green Bay glo-bug", which I have already shortened to just "glo-bug". But his levels were down enough yesterday that he was able to end the treatment and we are glad to have him back w/o the green glow of the light pad (though the nickname may just stick!).

Owen makes all sorts of funny facial expressions, when he's not sleeping (which is most of the time). He's already far too long for a lot of the newborn clothes we've acquired as hand-me-downs. I suspect we'll be pushing the age-limits on clothes for many years to come!

(many more photos on our Facebook pages for those interested....)